REFLECTION
Urban spaces
essentially focus on cities and the complex patterns of movement, flows and
linkages that bind them in space. It also seeks to recognize the patterns of
distribution and interaction with cities. My aim was to focus on the use of
space in the urban area in Trinidad. Gohen (1998) in his article progress to
geography speaks on public space in cities. He states that public space is
charged with both meaning and controversy. In addition space is what many
people value, space to which it attributes symbolic significance and asserts claims. He also highlighted that Citizens
create meaningful public space by expressing their attitudes, asserting their
claims and using it for their own purpose. This process is dynamic for meanings
and uses are always changing. All my blog entries focused on the use of space
in various form through economic , political, cultural and social activity.
Jacobs approached
cities as living beings and ecosystems. She suggested that over time,
buildings, streets and neighborhoods function as dynamic organisms, changing in
response to how people interact with them. She explained how each element of a
city – sidewalks, parks, neighborhoods, government, and economy – functions
together synergistically, in the same manner as the natural ecosystem. This
helps us discern how cities work and how
they break down. This was evident in the blogs posted in terms of how various
groups used space for instance the religious group on the Brian Lara promenade.
Similar ideas were present in http://anurbanexploration.blogspot.com/
, as she highlighted how creative
meaning was given to public space as individuals expressed themselves in
various forms und used the space provided in various ways.
The question of housing
was a key issue examining human rights. This led me to the concept of
homelessness in cities. I chose to
highlight this aspect of public space since the presence of homeless people on
the streets was very visible. I addressed
the issue on http://francis03arzu.blogspot.com/
since the same issues arose. The final argument was that the problem of
homelessness and homeless people need to be viewed from the eyes of the
homeless, otherwise there is a concern that strategies put in place will fail
to meet the needs of homeless groups.
Another use of space
highlighted was mobility, which was seen as an important process in shaping
cities. I liked how http://dairyoftheurban.blogspot.com/ suggested ways in which one could avoid
relying completely on transport. My take on transport on mobility was the
varying impacts it had on the environment which was also mentioned in her post.
Over the past weeks it
was a pleasure capturing the activities and uses of public space in Trinidad; which
brings me to the point, that as geographers we have a particular interest in
learning from the way urban society views, manages and contest this collective
resource, this shared symbolic space.
Goheen, G. Peter.
Progress in Human Geography." Public Space and Geography of the Modern City"
22,4 (1998): 47
